Playing God
by littledarkangelhippie
Summary: Every other century, a new soul is born, and they are highly coveted among the greedier gods. Their untainted souls make for an easy climb up the social ladder. Their rarity only serves to add to the want for them. How a new soul happened to go this long undetected, no one knows. But the chase is on. (ichihime) AU
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer****: I do not own ****_Bleach_.**

"It's raining again," Karin commented offhandedly, dangling a piece of plain toast between her fingers and casting a cursory glance behind her out the kitchen window. A fine sheet of fog rose outside, small droplets of rain flicking onto the glass. He paused midway toward the front door, adjusting his sleeves absentmindedly, and spun back around to retrieve an umbrella from the hallway closet.

"Fourth time this week," he muttered, slipping on his shoes at the door. "Hasn't rained like this in years. Where's Yuzu?"

"Probably curling her hair or something," Karin shrugged, taking a bite out of her toast. She looked up as he unlocked the front door to step out. "Have a nice day."

"Yeah. You, too." He shut the door promptly, squinting up at the sky from under the overhanging roof and then opening up the umbrella above him. The cement ground was slick, and he avoided puddles on the sidewalk as he made his way down the street to school. The chill that hung in the air settled over his skin lightly, and he quietly longed for his bed. He'd missed too many days already to ask for any more.

Ahead, he made out a figure through the mist. When they tilted their head back to look at the sky, he quickened his pace to catch up to them. He fell into step beside them easily, offering a small smile when a pair of wide brown eyes turned on him. "Why, good morning!" she exclaimed, soft face melting into a sweet smile.

"Morning. You're not cold?" He eyed the standard gray skirt and jacket, the thin material of her white stockings and the pink hue her cheeks and nose had begun to take. He figured the next thing out of her mouth would be a lie.

"Of course not!" She tucked her hair closer to the side of her neck evasively, eyes flicking away and then back to his face. "I drank hot tea this morning," she added, as if that fact alone would be enough to keep her warm.

He held his umbrella over her carefully. "You should bring a coat next time. The girl uniforms aren't exactly effective in these situations."

She smoothed her slender hands down the front of her skirt thoughtlessly. "Well, you're right on that account..." she replied, reaching up to comb her fingers through her damp hair. When her eyes glinted mischievously, he felt his lips twitch again at the corner. "If I had my own school, all the uniforms would be nice and cozy."

"And animal onesies?" he guessed, recalling the last time she'd described her dream school.

She beamed up at him, releasing her hair entirely. "Exactly! I'm glad you remembered." She looked off to the side and then over her shoulder suspiciously, as if someone were listening. Instinctively, he leaned in closer when she lowered her voice. "Everyone else keeps saying it's a weird dream."

A year ago, he might have agreed. Her quirkiness used to strike him as odd, but now it didn't even faze him. She often shared with him her strange thoughts, and these days he even looked forward to hearing them. Perhaps it was the way her face lit up and her eyes shone when he listened, he didn't know. But he found himself paying more and more attention, setting aside certain things for future reference within these compartments in his mind he was very certain hadn't existed before. It came in handy every now and then, and served to drive along the conversation smoothly.

It came in handy now, as the grin on her face hadn't quite faded yet.

"I dreamed of moon gods last night," she suddenly said, clapping her hands together once. A furrow appeared between her thin eyebrows, and a tiny frown curved her lips.

He'd admit that keeping up with her was a little difficult, no matter how much time he spent with her. The jumps between topics were sometimes too quick to catch. "Moon gods?" he inquired, shifting the umbrella against his shoulder. She steepled her fingers for a moment, looking up at the clouds from under the rim.

"Well, not exactly," she mused, "more like...night gods. Or something like that."

Every now and then, among the confusing mess that was Orihime Inoue's mind, there would be a gem gleaming from somewhere in the chaos. Not many people would ever live to see it happen, but Ichigo could pride himself in saying that he had witnessed it on more than one occasion. He knew how to read her face for the exact moment that it did, and he saw the build-up to it in a matter of seconds. These were usually the thoughts that kept him thinking late into the night, pondering over them until his head pulsed with exhaustion.

"What did they look like?" he found himself asking, turning his attention entirely to her.

Her expression turned sheepish. "There were two of them, but I only saw one clear enough to describe. They were...glowing. Like the moon."

"Which is why you called them moon gods," he supplied with a nod, prompting her to continue.

She nodded once in response. "The one reminded me of the moon in that way."

"What happened? Did they do anything?" He hadn't the slightest why he was so interested in knowing. A dream, after all, was just a dream. This being Orihime, there was less of a reason for him to delude himself into thinking this could have actually happened.

Still. There _was_ that one time she told him she dreamed of drinking a whole carton of milk and woke up the next morning to find that she had done just that.

"They said something," she replied, "but I couldn't hear all too well. Too sleepy, I guess."

Too sleepy in a dream? That didn't bode right to him.

To any other person, it might have seemed strange enough to laugh off and ignore, but they had seen stranger things in their short lives. Seeing a god might not be too far a stretch, all things considered.

"They mentioned it would rain today, though," she added with a wary glance toward the sprinkling sky.

And like that, all suspicions were lifted and cast aside. "It's been raining all week, Inoue. The weather report even said it would."

Her lips twisted into another small frown, bordering a pout. "I suppose you're right about that," she admitted with a sigh, relaxing into their pace once more. "I was so amazed this morning thinking it was real." She lightly smacked her cheeks with her hands, pulling a determined expression. "There's no point dwelling on it," she explained when she noticed his confusion. "We'll just move on and keep moving forward."

As inspiring as her words were, he knew she wouldn't follow through with them. He was more than a little certain she would bring it up one way or another later on in the day, whether by accident or simple forgetfulness. Or both.

This was one of those things he compartmentalized for later reference.

"Alright, then," he said, tipping the umbrella better over them against the drizzle. "We'll forget about it."

~~...~~X~~...~~

"It's raining again." She pressed a palm to the window, casting a glance up at the thick coverage of clouds gathered in the sky. Their color was dark and angry, and the deep rumbles of thunder accompanying the quick flickers of lightning had her sighing as she realized these showers were far from over. "Fourth time this week."

She turned her head just as the door cracked open a polite amount. A timid voice spoke up from behind it, "You called, my lady?"

"I did," she said, reaching up to attempt to calm the chaotic disarray of her bed hair. "Please, have a carriage pulled up. I wish to pay an old friend a visit."

"Right away." Her servant bowed, and then continued to ask with a hesitant pause, "May I ask, is this a casual visit?"

She was already tugging her gown up over her head, causing the crack between the door and its frame to narrow nervously. "You could say," she allowed, bundling up the gown between her hands and spinning on her heel to amble across the floor to the washroom. "Have a maid come in to help me pick out an outfit. I'm awfully terrible with decisions, you see."

"Yes, ma'am." With that, the door clicked shut once more.

Dropping the gown in a basket near the door, she made quick work selecting a few choice bottles of soap to bathe with. As she sunk herself to her chin in warm water, she let her mind stray to the peculiar visions she'd had just last night, and the promises waiting at the end of them.

She collected a cluster of soap bubbles between her palms carefully. "This will make for a fun adventure," she murmured to the pearly suds catching off the light above her.

Pressing the white bubbles along her jaw, cheeks, and around her mouth, she smiled peacefully to herself and leaned back against the ivory tub once more, softly tapping her makeshift beard.

"A new soul, huh? How incredibly interesting."

~~...~~X~~...~~

**A.N.****: This is a new project. I've been mulling over this particular story for a while now and decided to use it for my favorite ship. I'm not sure how I'll do in making a full-fledged story, with all these chapters and plot twists and whatnot, but I'll try my best.**

**I don't have the best track record with long stories, I'll admit. **

**I'll update as soon as I can. Review if you'd like. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer****: I do not own ****_Bleach_.**

The hallways were littered with wandering groups of students, searching for a place to eat their lunch in peace. Any other day, this wouldn't have bothered him too much, but it made buying from the vending machine a bit of a pain. There was a line extending further than what he was used to, and Ichigo wasn't much for patience. His scowl must have put a few people off, as they began to fidget when they made the mistake of meeting his eyes.

He was halfway sure one of them was going to run away out of mere paranoia when a hand fell lightly on his elbow, breaking the tension. He looked over to find Orihime smiling up at him, clutching a plastic bag full of sweet bread and chips in her free arm. There was a collective sigh of relief around him; perhaps they figured she was the only person who could calm him.

They weren't entirely wrong.

"Wanna eat lunch together?" she asked, shifting the bag to the other arm and rocking back on her heels. "We can't think of anywhere to eat, it raining and all. Maybe we can share a spot?"

The line advanced, two more people and he could get his drink. He reached into his pocket for change. "Sure, as long as Chizuru promises not to get mad every single time you and I talk."

"She's very protective. I don't know if I could ask her that."

"That's not the word I'd use," he mumbled, turning back toward the vending machine once he reached the front.

"I'm going to be sitting next to you anyway," she reassured flippantly, brushing off his comment. "There's not much she can do about that."

"There's a lot she can do about that."

He glanced over just in time to catch her small grin, returning it in full before moving his attention back to the machine. "I wanted to talk to you anyway," she said as he leaned down to take the drink from the slot, following him away from the line and down the hall back to their classroom.

"About?" He wiped the top clean with his sleeve, then popped it open. She watched him tilt his head back, his Adam's apple bobbing as he drank. She tugged thoughtlessly at the end of her skirt, looking away quickly.

"My dream."

He coughed around a chuckle, wiping at his mouth with the back of his hand. "Is that so?" At least he could say he was good at predicting her actions, whether it was from spending too much time with her or not.

She smiled again. "You're the only one that listens, really."

He stared at the can's label for a moment before offering it to her. She jumped back in surprise, a soft tinge of pink coloring her cheeks and her eyes going wide. "Have some. You didn't buy anything for yourself. We can share, if you want."

After a moment, she took the can very gingerly from his hand, bringing it up to her lips to take a hesitant sip. She rubbed her reddened cheek with the back of her knuckles, brow furrowing slightly. "Thank you," she murmured into the rim, pressing it into her lower lip before taking another sip.

He dragged his gaze away quickly. "Don't mention it."

He slid the classroom door open for her, spotting his group gathered at the very corner of the room by the window, and hers gathering their things while in the midst of a discussion. She handed over the can, holding his eyes to say, "Save me a spot," and joined her friends.

The closer he came to his own group, the more he regretted leaving her side. The looks he was getting, paired with the ones he could _feel _on his back from her group, was enough to make him want to turn tail and bolt out of the room again. And when Keigo's face split in a wide grin, he had to physically stop himself from doing just that—or even tossing himself out the window nearest him.

"Getting a little friendly there with Orihime-chan?" he teased, sidling up next to Ichigo.

The scowl had returned full force. "Shut up."

Keigo held up his hands defensively. "Hey, hey. No one ever said that was a bad thing." His grin turned suggestive. "In fact, one could say that it's a _very _good thing."

Before Ichigo could do it himself, a fist flew into Keigo's cheek, knocking him off balance. At the other end of that fist, Tatsuki fumed angrily. "Stop being stupid," she snapped.

Chizuru, arm flung over Orihime's shoulders, added, "As if Hime-chan would stoop so low."

Ichigo felt a brief flash of irritation at her comment, but pushed it away as he sat himself down in the desk nearest the window, clearing the desk beside his promptly and arranging it closer to him. "Here you go," he said, looking directly at Orihime, and patted the edge of the top expectantly.

She extracted herself from Chizuru, winding between their friends and plopping herself gracelessly into the chair. Humming, she began to take out her food and lay it out carefully across the top.

The longer they stared, the more aggravated he became. "What?" he snapped, setting down his can of soda a little more forcefully than he'd intended. Orihime was busying herself unwrapping a honey bun, blinking over at him and then at the merged group gathered around them.

"This is strange, even for you," Tatsuki said, crossing her arms. "Since when are you and Orihime this close?"

Sado, turning the desk in front of his to form a neater circle, quietly exchanged his bag of potato chips for Orihime's banana bread. "We hung out all summer," Sado said calmly, settling back to open the packet. "We've all gotten pretty close."

Keigo whined, "Why aren't _we _ever included on your trips?"

"Because you make everyone uncomfortable," Ishida quipped, pushing another desk into the circle.

"Alright," Tatsuki sighed, cutting off Keigo's complaints, "we'll all sit together and catch up then. We don't really have any other choice, it's raining too hard outside to sit anywhere else anyway."

As everyone else began to settle down, Chizuru came dragging a chair between him and Orihime, attempting to shove her foot within the small space left between their thighs. Before Ichigo could retaliate, Orihime waved a hand between them, looking up at Chizuru meaningfully. "Kurosaki-kun and I are sitting together today," she said firmly, holding her ground when her friend began to sputter. She gestured to her right. "You can sit over here, I don't mind."

With a dark glare directed at him, Chizuru grumbled her acquiescence and pulled the chair around to the other side.

"Are you two hiding something?" Tatsuki demanded, clenching a fist to bring down on her desk.

"Just two friends sitting together," Ichigo said, breaking apart some bread to eat. "That's all."

She relented, leaning back into her seat again, but shot right back up when Orihime took a sip from his can of soda. "_What_?"

"Just two friends—"

"_Ichigo—_"

"Kurosaki-kun noticed I didn't buy something to drink for myself," Orihime interrupted, placating the situation. "He offered to share with me."

"I don't like it," Chizuru chimed in.

"Nobody cares if you—"

"I think we've known each other long enough," Sado interrupted him. "Sharing a can of soda doesn't mean anything."

"_Indirect kissing_," Chizuru hissed.

Orihime's face became noticeably red. She pulled her hair around to press against her cheeks, looking away. "It's not like that."

A discussion broke out among the rest, and as it became more heated, Ichigo leaned over to murmur, "You're gonna have to save it for later. We're not getting anywhere here."

"He's whispering in her ear now!"

"_Ichigo!_"

"After school, then," Orihime mumbled under her breath, a nervous smile playing around the corners of her lips.

~~...~~X~~...~~

"I'm assuming something awfully terrible must've happened for you to be here," he said as soon as she stepped foot on his property, the carriage pulling away behind her. He stood at the bottom of the staircase leading up to the entrance of his home, hands stuffed in the pockets of his cream colored slacks and weight leaned onto one leg.

She hadn't expected him to greet her at the door like this. Most nobles tended to let their servants take care of those formalities, waiting safely within their own rooms until they were called down for some superficial gossip over tea. But of course, he would be so different.

Never one for conventionality.

"Judging by your clothes, someone must've died a horrible death," he continued to say, the corner of his lips curving upward very slowly. He could count on his fingers how many times he'd seen a lady wearing black. All of which were her.

She gathered her skirts up in her fists, making her way over to him. He held out a hand for her to take, guiding her up the steps to the main entrance. "No one has died," she murmured, watching their feet as they arrived at the top.

"How unfortunate," he replied, releasing her hand and waving for the doorman to allow them in.

"But something awful _has_ happened."

He paused moving ahead of her, looking down at her with an indiscernible expression on his face. He then gestured for her to enter before him, idly mentioning they were headed to the garden out back. "Honestly," he sighed, sounding more disappointed in her than the turn of events, "the _only_ reason you ever visit anymore is to throw more bad news at me. Can't there ever be _just _a friendly visit? Where we chat or catch up or just spend time together?"

"We're not that kind of friends."

"I was under the impression we were. Would you like white tea or green?"

"Either is fine."

"Jasmine it is. You ought to be more specific."

She sat down in the chair he pulled out for her, fiddling with the silverware laid out before her. "I had a vision last night."

"This is news," he commented, leaning back in his own chair. "You haven't had one of those in quite some time. What was it?"

"Of a girl—a human girl, barely even an adult." She spooned some honey into her freshly poured tea, stirring once or twice before tapping the handle against the rim lightly. "Hardly extraordinary aside from her beauty at first glance, she seemed to have some sort of...ability. They closely resemble a baser level of our own—well, of our kind..."

He licked the tea from his lips, resting his chin in his palm. "How very interesting. I would have assumed she were a shinigami, like that peculiar boy, but this certainly exceeds my expectations. And who is this human girl?"

"Inoue Orihime," she responded absently, watching the tea ripple soundly. "There is...one more thing I feel I must mention about her."

His eyes met hers carefully. "The 'awful' part, is it?"

She nodded once, curtly, and leveled his gaze. "She's a new soul."

~~...~~X~~...~~

**A.N.****: Gonna keep these chapters around this length. Exceeding it tends to be too much for me.**

**I'm seeing a lot of confusion. Good. Let's be mysterious for once. I always give too much away to my readers, and I won't do that this time. We're all going on an adventure, friends—I, too, have no idea where we're going. We're just gonna have to wait and see.**

**I will say this, I will describe the OC (well, there's obviously two now) through Orihime or Ichigo's eyes (most likely Orihime's, because she does have quite an imagination, but I'm not sure myself). Just picture faceless people with fancy clothes.**

**Anyway, review if you'd like. No pressure.**

**(Any mistakes, blame it on my hurry to update. I will edit as soon as I get some rest.)**


End file.
